Our grants support organisations’ core or project costs, including staff salaries and overheads. We do not fund building or equipment costs, or individuals. 2014 grants ranged from £6k to £1.25m (median average £90,000), with support lasting 1 - 5 years (47% 3 years).

There are no deadlines – you can apply at anytime.

We have no restrictions on reapplying.

We have a two stage application process:

1st stage: apply online. We acknowledge by email within a week and decide whether to take it further within a month.

You might find it helpful to know:

You can save and return to your application at any time, print before submitting, and you will receive an emailed copy of your completed application after submission. Once you have created an account you can log in and return to your application.

We recommend using the following browsers both of which can be downloaded for free: Internet Explorer (Microsoft) or Firefox (Mozilla).

Video: Hints and tips on how to apply to Esmée

There are no deadlines – we assess applications on a rolling basis so you can submit an application to us at any time.

Q:

How much can we apply for? What is the maximum amount we can apply for?

A:

You should apply for the amount you need (although we generally will be looking for organisations to be developing a sustainable funding base, so this means not over-relying on any one funder). The Foundation does not set limits and makes grants across a fairly wide spectrum of sizes. Looking at grants we’ve made will give a useful indication of typical grant sizes. The Foundation rarely makes grants that are smaller than £5,000.

There is no maximum. However, the Foundation makes only a small number of grants in excess of £500,000 and it is unusual for the Foundation to give a grant of this size or larger to an organisation with which it does not already have a relationship.

Q:

We want to make an application but: we do not have a set of accounts, track record or constitution.

A:

The Foundation understands that new and emerging organisations are an important part of civil society - and recognises they may not have the documentation and record of established organisations. In these cases we will want to know more about the people involved (and their personal track records), a clear view of what the organisation's plans are, and budgets for the proposed work. We are unable to support groups that do not have a constitution.

Q:

How long will I have to wait for a decision?

A:

We aim to acknowledge your first stage application by email within a week of receiving it.

We expect to decide about whether to take it further within a month.

At second stage, we expect to notify you of the decision within four months of receiving your second stage application.

Q:

Can I speak to someone over the phone to see whether we are eligible for funding?

A:

For a conversation to be meaningful we first need to read your first stage application.

We will call you if we need to know more. Existing grant-holders should get in touch with their grants manager at the Foundation.

Q:

We already have a grant from the Foundation. Can we discuss further funding?

A:

If your organisation already has a grant from the Foundation, and you would like to discuss further funding, you should contact your grants manager six months before the grant is due to expire.

Q:

We are a social enterprise/ CIC (community interest company)/ company. Are we eligible for funding?

A:

The Foundation funds work that is legally charitable, but this can be carried out by social enterprises, community interest companies, and companies limited by guarantee. We are highly unlikely to fund CICs limited by shares or companies limited by shares.

We would need to see a copy of your constitution to check that there is sufficient public benefit and protection against private benefit (such as what happens if there are any surpluses or if the organisation closes down). In constitutions we look out for:

A minimum of three directors, the majority of whom should not be paid employees

The salaries and benefits of employees must be approved by a majority of non-executive Directors

In CICs - an asset lock body with similar objectives to the CIC, which is not something we couldn’t fund

Q:

We work across more than one of your sectors, which funding priority should I choose?

A:

We welcome applications which cross more than one of our sectors and your application will be assessed with that in mind. To help us track and report on applications and grants however, we would like you to choose one (the most appropriate) sector and specific funding priority for your proposed work.